Siren's Call
by LadyAnatar
Summary: On a beautiful Saturday in Detroit, Optimus discovers an uncomfortable facet of Michigan life.


Siren's Call

 _Author's Notes: One of the things that constantly amuses me in stories is how the characters daily lives will be influenced by where the author lives. I myself live in Michigan, so I intrinsically know some of the basics and specifics of how the TFA characters will live, even with significant time gaps, technology advances, and a Transformers-universes-suck-at-geography handicap. (For future reference, folks, I'm sorry, but southeast Michigan has absolutely no cliffs or caves big enough to fit a Transformer, and they can't get into the Detroit salt mines.) I decided to use my Setting Assignment to describe Optimus' reaction to a normal part life here. This is set_ very _early in the series, which is convenient because I've only seen like the first four episodes._

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Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers.

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In a rare turn of events, Optimus found himself doing nothing but watching Sari play on a playground while he relaxed in the sun.

Earlier this morning, when Bumblebee and Bulkhead had been on patrol, Ratchet had been busy doing something with some medical equipment, and Prowl had been off doing who-knows-what, the red and blue prime had been trying to decide what to do himself. Serendipitously, the human girl had sneaked into their base, sidled up to him, and ever-so-sweetly asked if he would be willing to take her to a park, pretty pretty please? After all, Optimus was a responsible grown-up _plus_ had a method of transportation, and therefore was more than suitable for the task. Bemused, curious, and just a tad bored, he had agreed, and the two of them spent the next thirty minutes driving to an elementary school ("Yes, we're allowed to play on them when school's out, and it's Saturday!") with a supposedly legendary playground. Once they'd arrived, he had obligingly popped open his door and tracked the red-haired yellow blur as she zipped towards and into the play-structure.

She _loved_ it. She loved it even more when some of the other kids invited her to play their games of "Marco Polo" and "Hot Lava" (fortunately, the title was misleading, and no actual lava was involved). Optimus was too far to hear exact words, but the happy shrieks and giggles traveled easily, and he could spot her beaming smile from the parking lot. As for himself, he quickly realized that "watching" Sari required almost no effort on his part, and the sunshine pouring down on him had a lethargic effect; the heat radiating from the pavement alone was almost enough to lull him into recharge. In addition, despite the oddity of a firetruck quietly parked at a school, none of the humans minded his presence, though there were a couple of little boys who had to be coaxed away from their wide-eyed admiration by their fondly exasperated parents. All in all, Optimus could honestly say that he was enjoying the "day off."

Suddenly, a quiet siren began flaring, and within seconds had grown to a volume great enough that children on the playground were clutching their ears in pain; several had even run in tears to parents on the sidelines. Optimus smoothly transformed to root mode, battle mask in place and axe within easy reach, and swiftly started towards Sari. Before he could reach her, the noise quieted down just enough for him to hear her bellow, "I'm okay! It'll be over in a minute!"

Despite the assurance, Optimus continued forward until he reached the outskirts of the play structure closest to where Sari stood with her hands covering both ears. _What in Primus' name is this?_ Optimus wondered. _It does not appear to be a true warning signal; the adults are more wary of me than the noise. But it is so loud that it is almost painful!_

Finally, the noise began to die down as he noticed that only the smallest of the children had escaped to their parents; the larger ones, including Sari, seems irritated or in awe of him rather than scared. Once the racket had fully faded, he gently picked up Sari and stepped a few paces away to talk. "What was that?"

"That was a tornado siren," the youngling explained. "It goes off whenever there's a tornado nearby. It also goes off the first Saturday of every month just to test that everything is working. Since that was so loud, there's probably one really close to us. Don't worry; it shouldn't go off again." Big, mahogany eyes caught his imploringly. "So, can we stay for longer? I was having fun."

Pondering for a moment, Optimus nodded. "Sure, Sari."

"Thank you!" she squealed, and as soon as he put her on the ground, she dashed back to the other kids, who greeted her with a lot of questions about the giant robot she had been talking to. After a few minutes, they all returned to their games, and Optimus carefully headed back to the parking lot. He wanted to take advantage of the beautiful day and soak in the sun some more.

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 _Author's Notes 2: For the sake of plot, please pretend that Optimus was too busy to think of figuring out the siren on the internet. In Michiganian suburbs, the tests are conducted from at least May to September (I'm not sure about other states, but I assume it's similar), and tornado sirens are often put up at schools and churches. There's a church right across the street from my house; I have NO PROBLEM hearing it. Public schools don't mind kids playing there when school's not in session, though the playgrounds are getting wussier over the years. Finally, Michiganders measure distance in units of time, and I've noticed that my robots tend to enjoy sunbathing._

 _I'll leave a link to a tornado siren on AO3 when I post over there.  
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End file.
